Edited by: La0o9
Proofreader: Arya
The 60,000-ton force of the Earth Sword was used as a push, transferred over by an attack.
At least, for the next 10 minutes, Ivan can’t even think about returning.
Gu Qing Shan put his sword away.
During the past life, after a lot of thinking and discussion by everyone, quite a few methods of overcoming [Repentance] were devised.
Of course, these methods all require extremely fine control, skill and usage of power to use.
What Gu Qing Shan used here was the simplest method of getting away from him without fighting.
Because all he needs to do is buy 10 minutes for Anna.
Looking at the end of the hallway, Gu Qing Shan saw the large hole opened by himself just now.
Then as he looked down at his shoulder, a milky white bundle of light was silently floating there.
This is what Ivan desperately stuck onto him before he was sent flying.
As soon as the bundle of light was about to touch him, Gu Qing Shan used spirit energy to stop it.
This is a sort of stigma, representing an enemy of the Holy Church. Whenever they get close enough, a high-ranking Holy Apostle will be able to feel this stigma’s existence.
Luckily Gu Qing Shan was quick enough to stop it from touching him, otherwise it would bring an endless flow of powerful enemies here.
Below, as people heard Ivan’s yell, together with the large impact of his attack, a few church members has already started gathering here.
The sound of footsteps and discussion was coming close.
Gu Qing Shan spoke: “Impartial Goddess”
[I’m here]
“I’ve left the warp device in the exhibition room, 10 minutes later, the king’s soul will dissipate. At that time, immediately warp Anna back”
[Understood, Liao Xing wanted to speak to you]
“Connect him”
Liao Xing’s serious voice came from the Holo-Brain: [Ye Fei Li wants to go save you]
“Tell him to stay there, if he appeared and his identity gets found out, it’ll be even more troublesome”
[I agree, so in a time of crisis, we still need to depend on science after all] Liao Xing pridefully said.
“You have a good suggestion?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
Liao Xing quickly explained: [I’m currently replenishing energy for the hidden warp device in the Holy Empire’s capital. Impartial Goddess knows where it is, you just need to get there as quick as possible]
Gu Qing Shan said: “If I go there, that warp device will be found out”
[No matter, after you warp, it’ll self-destruct]
“Ok then, after Anna leaves, I’ll use that method to leave ———-on the other hand, where’s the Pope?” Gu Qing Shan asked very seriously.
[The Pope is still at the Holy Sanctuary]
Gu Qing Shan silently breathed out in relief and said: “If she moves, immediately tell me, I will hold nothing back to get out of the Holy Empire then”
[Ok, I’ll pay attention]
“Hm, after I return I’ll treat you to something sweet”
After saying so, Gu Qing Shan hung up.
A few black-robed church members started to ascend the stairs.
They looked at the large hole at the end of the hallway, then at Gu Qing Shan and shouted nervously.
“Who are you!”
“Do not move, identify yourself”
“Where’s sir Ivan?”
“Contact the others, quickly”
While they were panicking, Gu Qing Shan shook his head, lightly took his sword and hit the ground.
As if it was hit by a meteor, the floor in front of him started to collapse.
The floor collapsed beneath the church member’s feet as well.
Having no choice, they could only follow the floor and fell, landing on the floor below.
After regaining balance, they looked up to see that he was still standing on the third floor, his sword on his shoulder, looking down nonchalantly.
“Who are you exactly?” one of them loudly demanded.
“Me? Did Ivan not tell you?” Gu Qing Shan very calmly responded.
The church members exchanged glances, then took out a communication device to contact the main church.
But no matter how much they tried, the call won’t connect.
“Did you do that?” Gu Qing Shan asked his Holo-Brain.
[I did, sir, I think you might need some time to smooth out the situation] Impartial Goddess answered.
“Smart” Gu Qing Shan praised.
The church members gave up on the communication devices and started shouting for backup while running out.
[Sir, more and more Paladins are gathering there, I advise that you leave immediately] Impartial Goddess said.
“I need to stay here for a bit longer before I can leave” Gu Qing Shan answered.
[According to the Holy Empire’s surveillance system, more and more Paladins are gathering from around the outskirts, the chance of you escaping successfully is rapidly decreasing] Impartial Goddess reported.
Gu Qing Shan ignored that and brought a chair from somewhere, sat down right at the edge of the collapsed floor.
He crossed his legs, putting the Earth Sword sideways on his lap and said: “10 minutes isn’t a lot”
The second floor hallway that was supposed to be empty was quickly filling up with people.
The Paladins had already surrounded the area.
A commander-looking person came out from the crowd.
“Who are you?” he looked up at the third floor and asked.
“I am the Confederate’s Holy Empire Embassy live-in military officer, Zhang Ren Jia”
“What are you doing here?”
“Sparring”
“Sparring?”
“Hm, your Holy Apostle Ivan told me that he very much looks down on our Confederate Professionists”
“What happened after?”
“After that, he invited me to spar”
As they heard that everyone here understood in their minds.
That’s just how Ivan is.
Not just with enemies, even against people on the same side, Ivan likes to use the excuse of sparring to break his opponent’s belief and will, thus creating pain for them.
He enjoys the process.
Hearing that, the officer’s expression loosened, asking: “Then, where’s sir Ivan?”
“I sent him flying” Gu Qing Shan answered.
The crowd became rowdy.
Everyone couldn’t help but burst out in discussion.
Because this is Ivan! The undefeated Holy Apostle Ivan!
“Your actions right now have caused a very serious diplomatic issue” the Holy Church’s officer held his emotions down and spoke very seriously.
“You’re thinking too much, this is nothing but a little post-meal exercise, it doesn’t concern any national business” Gu Qing Shan shrugged, “a powerhouse of the Holy Church challenged me to a duel, then the duel was decided, simple as that”
“What about witnesses?”
“It’s a simple sparring match, what witness do you want?”
“That is to say, this is only a match between the two of you, and you don’t represent your country’s will?”
“Isn’t this type of match very common?” Gu Qing Shan spoke matter-of-factly.
That’s right, matches between Professionists are very common, especially in banquets, treated as a form of entertainment, sometimes there’s even betting involved.
This type of betting match has existed since the banquets of ancient kings, persisting in form until now.
However——–
Everyone looked at the large hole at the end of the hallway, then back at Gu Qing Shan.
Gu Qing Shan very apologetically: “Truthfully, I’m annoyed with him as much as he’s annoyed with me, so I didn’t really control my strength too well”
[Seven minutes left] Impartial Goddess said in a whisper.
“Since your sparring match had ended, please come down, we need to take care of the aftermath” the Holy Church’s officer said without changing his expression.
The reason he’s where he is today isn’t because of his strength, but rather his wits.
He has a strange feeling about this.
They couldn’t contact Holy Apostle Ivan.
There are no witnesses, no one to tell what happened from start to end.
——–that is to say, there’s something going on on the 3rd floor?
The officer’s eyes started to look for any anomalies on the 3rd floor as much as his eyes can see.
If nothing comes up during the check, then this really is nothing but a normal sparring match, although it’s a bit humiliating for the Holy Church.
But a match is only a match, it doesn’t affect anything as a whole.
But if something is truly going on on the 3rd floor, then the Holy Apostle Ivan’s disappearance might very well be because he noticed some unbelievable secret.
Which means they have to check the 3rd floor thoroughly!
“Sir, you can come down now” the Paladin officer smiled and said.
“That’s no good, I can’t leave right now” Gu Qing Shan shook his head.
The Paladin officer’s expression changed.
Gu Qing Shan continued: “Ivan told me, if I manage to defeat him, he’ll call his older brother over”
“I’ll have to wait to see this older brother of his and have another match”
“Holy Apostle Ivan has no older brother!” the Paladin officer spoke.
“Hm? He doesn’t? He said his brother was called Hurt”
The entire crowd went silent, the Paladin officer also shut his mouth.
Hurt is the Great Holy Apostle, the leader of the seven Apostles, the strongest warrior of the Church, second only to the Pope.
Hurt really is Ivan’s half-brother of the same father, this is a fact that many high-ranking officials of the church knows about.
But asides from Ivan and Hurt themselves, who even dares to discuss such a thing? Who dares to say that to an outsider?
The previous person that dared to do that was burned by Hurt as a sacrifice to God in front of everybody.
Since the name ‘Hurt’ has come up, it really could be something Ivan accidentally said.
“You said he doesn’t have one, but ———Ivan himself claimed that he does” Gu Qing Shan showed an innocent expression.
The Paladin officer doesn’t dare to pry any further.
If this is a match between the two Holy Apostles and another person, then he shouldn’t butt in unless he wants to die.
“If that’s the case, then please continue to wait here” the Paladin officer said.
He turned and quickly left.
The only thing he can do right now is to quickly report this to his higher-ups.
“Go find the Confederate’s ambassador, contact the Holy Sanctuary, contact the Holy Apostles, split up, quickly!” he ordered.
“What’s the situation? I heard a large commotion here” a calming male voice was heard.
The Paladin officer turned to look and was extremely glad.
A dignified man dressed in a luxurious red robe was walking here together with the beautiful lady host of today’s banquet.
Unlike the white-robed Holy Judges, the red robe represents the administration level of the Holy Church, holding immense authority in their hand.
This is also one of the Seven Holy Apostles, Cardinal Kid.
“Greetings to you sir, this is what happened…”
The Paladin officer quickly told him everything.
“Ah! How could such a thing happen!” the beautiful lady gasped in shock.
“Is that right? Ahahaha, that idiot Ivan got sent flying?” the cardinal laughed.
“Seems like that dumb judge finally hit a hard rock!”
The cardinal shook his head and clapped, showing a clear sense of gloating.
He turned to address the lady next to him: “No worries, it’s a simple sparring match”
“But it was such a large commotion, they scared all my guests” the lady angrily complained.
“No way around it, that idiot has never considered other people’s feelings when he fought”
The cardinal thought about it, then said: “You should go and calm down your gusts, explain the matter to them first, I’ll go take a look on this side”
Saying so, he started to walk up the stairs.
Hearing that, the lady couldn’t do anything else but headed back to the banquet hall at the front.
3rd floor.
[4 more minutes until the warp device starts] Impartial Goddess said.
“Good” Gu Qing Shan answered.
Impartial Goddess continued: [Sir, news of your battle with Ivan is spreading rapidly, your current estimated rate of survival has become extremely low]
“No worries”
Suddenly, a luxurious red-robed man appeared in his sight.
“Nice to meet you, I am the cardinal of the Holy Church, Kid”
A dignified, masculine man stood on the floor below, looked up to speak to him.
